Charlottesville Authorities Give Police Chief Right to Restrict Movement in City

Charlottesville Police Department said that Charlottesville City Council empowers the chief of local police to restrict assembly and movement of persons and vehicles in the city after the violent clashes over the far-right rallies.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Charlottesville City Council empowers the chief of local police to restrict assembly and movement of persons and vehicles in the city after the violent clashes over the far-right rallies, Charlottesville Police Department said in a statement Sunday.

On Saturday, Charlottesville saw a major rally of far-right nationalists dubbed "Unite the Right" which subsequently led to the unrest. According to the local authorities, three people have been killed in the city. Reacting to the clashes, Governor of the US state of Virginia Terry McAuliffe declared a state of emergency in Charlottesville.

"Charlottesville City Council voted unanimously to empower Charlottesville Chief of Police Al Thomas to regulate, restrict or prohibit any assembly of persons, or the movement of persons or vehicles on any public street, sidewalk, right-of-way, park or other publicly-owned property as he deems necessary to protect the City of Charlottesville," the statement read.

Charlottesville Mayor Mike Signer also said in a statement that "the council's decision to give Chief Thomas the authority to enact a curfew as appropriate was made out of an abundance of caution."

"We did so, having full confidence in Chief Thomas and regional law enforcement's ability to make the final call," Singer explained in the statement.

The far-right demonstration in Charlottesville was held in protest against the removal of a statue honoring Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee from the city's central park. The rally has been strongly condemned both by McAuliffe and the local authorities, as well as the US president Donald Trump.

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